Personal profile
Michel Le Roux
Co-founder of Synarchy - founder of Bipolar Belong - founder of Coaching Bipolar
A life shaped by imagination
Michel Le Roux has always seen the world through the lens of possibility. Long before business, before advocacy, before coaching, there was a young boy drawn to stories. He wrote poems, songs and explored ideas that blurred emotion and creativity.
That instinct never left him. It simply evolved.
From storytelling to brand creation
In the early 2000s, Michel founded Alterego, a marketing agency rooted in wine, gastronomy and culture. His work stood out for its sensitivity and originality, bringing together narrative, aesthetics and experience. One of his campaigns, Wine Moods, reimagined how French wines could be expressed and felt. It won the Wine Marketing Awards in the Netherlands. For Michel, branding was never just about positioning. It was about translating feeling into form.
Creating experiences you can feel
This philosophy naturally led him beyond traditional marketing into immersive experiences. With concepts like the Carousel of Senses, he invited audiences into environments where taste, sound, movement and emotion intertwined. These were not only events to attend, but moments to live through, designed to awaken perception and create lasting impressions.
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Later, with IDish, he pushed this idea further. The premise was simple yet powerful: if a company were a dish, what would it taste like? Working alongside chefs, he helped organisations express their identity through a culinary experience, turning brand values into something tangible and shared.
Teaching creativity as a discipline
Michel has always believed that creativity is not a gift reserved for a few. It is a discipline that can be learned, practiced and refined. Through his “Build the Brand” workshops in Dutch universities, he places students in real-world creative dynamics. They step into the role of agencies, compete, experiment and learn how ideas take shape and become meaningful brands. It is a direct way of showing that imagination becomes powerful when it is stimulated and structured.
A hands-on idealist
Alongside his professional work, Michel has consistently engaged in projects driven by human connection and cultural exchange. In Africa, he contributed to initiatives supporting young people through creativity and entrepreneurship. This led to the creation of Meleya, a sustainable coffee brand in Ethiopia, and later to the development of the Guiss Guiss Bou Bess collective in Senegal, blending traditional rhythms with electronic music.
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At different moments in time, he has also responded to broader societal challenges. He launched the European New Year as a cultural response to growing division, and later created the “I Love Crisis” platform to highlight solidarity and inventiveness during difficult economic times. More recently, his collaboration with Handicap International Switzerland has focused on awareness and fundraising campaigns, with one of them nominated for the Inclusive Communication Prize 2026 in Geneva.
Art, urgency and awareness
Michel continues to explore new forms of expression. Through the 00h02 project, he contributes to immersive artistic experiences inspired by the Doomsday Clock. These moments suspend time, even briefly, to create space for awareness, emotion and reflection. They invite participants to reconnect with what matters, and to see urgency not as fear, but as a call to awaken.
Living through bipolar, rebuilding with intention
Michel’s path has also been shaped by personal challenge. He experienced his first bipolar episode at the age of 17, while studying at Sciences Po Paris. Two further major episodes followed over the years. At times, everything felt at risk, including his relationships, his career and his sense of self.
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What followed was not a quick recovery, but a long process of rebuilding. Through discipline, self-understanding and a strong commitment to those around him, he gradually found stability. He has now lived with long-term stability for over 25 years. For him, this is not just a personal milestone. It is something to share.
Coaching with purpose
Six years ago, Michel began working as a coach through Coaching Bipolar. His approach is direct, grounded and purposeful. It focuses on helping people understand themselves, regain clarity and build a way of functioning that is both stable and meaningful. He works with individuals who want more than coping strategies. They are looking to move forward with intention, reconnect with who they are, and build something that holds over time. Each journey begins with a simple conversation, creating space to explore what is needed before deciding what comes next.
From lived experience to collective impact
Michel is also co-founder of Bipolar & Belong, together with Nathalie MacCarthy. What started as a shared intention has grown into an international community of more than 22,000 members. At its core, the initiative is about belonging. It offers visibility, solidarity and a different narrative around bipolar experience, one that includes both vulnerability and strength.
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Building on this, Michel co-created the Box of Belonging with Synarchy. This platform brings neuroinclusion into organisations through interactive and experiential formats, helping teams understand different ways of thinking and working.
Connecting creativity, resilience and inclusion
Across everything he does, a common thread emerges. Michel brings together imagination, lived experience and a desire to create meaningful impact. His work moves between worlds, from branding to coaching, from art to advocacy, always guided by the same intention.
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To help people feel understood.
To turn experience into strength.
And to open spaces where new ways of thinking can truly belong.
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